run for your life
by laramaximoff
Summary: Madison is in for a journey of a lifetime, as she is shipwrecked on Yamatai with her fellow crew members of the Endurance. Together, they all must find a way off the island as they fight against a cult dedicated to Queen Himiko herself.
1. CHAPTER ONE: THE EXPEDITION

**A/N:** I am not ashamed that I wrote this self-insert fic for the Tomb Raider reboot series. Ever since I was young, I have always loved Tomb Raider. The first game I played was TR: Starring Lara Croft on the PS1, thanks to my parents buying it for my sister. With my love of Tomb Raider, imagination, and writing, I have came up with this. It took me about six months but I am finally publishing the first chapter! I hope you all enjoy this because it's been fun to write!

 **UPDATE:** As of 4/1/2020, this first chapter has been edited and updated. If you are a previous fan, welcome back! If you are a new reader, welcome! It's been a year and (almost) a half since I published this and if you are looking for a new update: I am sorry for the long wait. I wanted to publish more (as I have about two chapters complete, and currently writing three), but it got pretty busy/lack of motivation. After almost completing yet another replay of this game, inspiration struck!

As stated before, I am taking no criticisms on this because I am just having fun and I know it's not perfect but I could care less on perfection. It's all about having a good time! If you want to follow me on tumblr, I am at **mariaromanovs** (main blog) and **madsthecreator** (writing blog). I also have a playlist for this on Spotify, simply titled as **Madison** **(Tomb Raider)**. The account is **daveejacobs**.

Finally, I must put a disclaim Tomb Raider. As much as I adore Lara Croft, I don't own her or her franchise! Now please, enjoy reading this.

* * *

Before the story truly begins, let it be known that it wasn't Madison's plan to be a part of the _Endurance_ crew for her summer vacation. Originally, she had planned to take a step back and keep it simple during her time off, maybe getting a job at Kohl's, but fate had other plans for her.

Sometime in March, about a month before term ended, Madison was made aware of an opportunity of a lifetime. There was a research vessel that was looking for helping hands, and a family friend was able to get her connected to the opportunity. Madison had to prove herself to get the job, but luckily enough she had made quite the impression on the captain, Conrad Roth. Roth was an English man in his early fifties with white, thinning hair. He had a rugged look to him, and Madison was sure that he was quite the explorer. He certainly seemed like the type.

Madison's first few weeks on the Endurance went better than she had expected it to be. When she had first begun, the young woman often played gofer; performing tasks that she was told to do. She would help the deckhands or assist Jonah and touch up on her culinary skills. As time went on and she was able to prove herself, she also became one of the researchers. This is where the true opportunity came.

James Whitman was a famed archaeologist, known for his television show called _Whitman's World_. At the time, Madison didn't know who he was, but she heard a few things about the man. She knew that his show was facing cancellation, and she knew that he had hired the _Endurance_ for the third season. While Madison was at first unsure about being part of a televised program, she slowly found excitement in it...until _Whitman's World_ was cancelled.

When Madison first heard about the setback, she was unsure on what was going to happen next. She figured that the expedition Whitman had envisioned would be cancelled. Then there was also the fact that they needed funding _for_ said expedition. Madison was informed that Whitman and Roth were trying to find funding for the voyage. At first, Madison was not aware of why they were so desperate to continue but as she learned more, she found herself understanding why they wanted to continue.

Whitman's third season was going to be based on finding the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai. When Madison had first discovered that this is what the _Endurance_ was searching for, she admittedly did not know much about it. All she knew was that Yamatai was a small island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and that it was lost. (Hence, the Lost Kingdom.) Madison also knew that some of the crew doubted the existence of the island, and truth be told Madison couldn't blame them. In modern history there was not much proof that the place even existed in the first place.

Madison wouldn't voice her doubts on Yamatai's existence. The main reason was because of Whitman. Like the rest of the crew, Madison couldn't stand the man and his condescending attitude. He was annoying yet here she was: part time gofer for him, and part time colleague with him, along with Lara Croft. Madison liked Lara. The recent ULC graduate was nice to her, and they had quickly become friends. This was Lara's first real expedition post university, and Madison could tell just how bad the young woman wanted to discover Yamatai. Madison would have felt bad if she were to squash Lara's ambition. Besides, there was always the chance of Yamatai existing, right? Madison shouldn't doubt it unless there was cold hard evidence. Besides, there was _some_ evidence: she had discovered that in ancient texts, there _was_ some sort of documentation.

 _Give the benefit of the doubt_ , Madison told herself. _Think outside of the box._

Of course, there was the issue of funding, which was hard to get. They were so close yet so far; very far. Madison had thought that the expedition would be a bust until Samantha Nishimura came into the picture.

Samantha, or Sam, was Lara's best friend from college who was a film major and came from a very wealthy family. Lara had contacted her friend, asking for help in funding the trip. In the end Sam's uncle helped cover the expenses in exchange for a rather large cut. That, and Sam was to be the director, film-maker, and editor of the documentary of the expedition. (Which is how Madison found another task: assist Sam with her documentary.) The deal was sealed, and the Endurance sailed off to find the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai.

Hopefully, they would be able to find Yamatai. This expedition was racking up the bill and as the _Endurance_ went into the next month, the crew became antsier by the day. Even if Sam's family was helping fund the expenses, they all knew that the money would no longer be in their hands.

While Madison was keeping her cool and working hard Lara had been busting her ass off, especially with the looming reminder about the cost of this expedition. Since the beginning of this expedition, Madison knew that the graduate was onto something; it was just at the tip of her tongue. While Whitman was no help, Madison tried her best in relieving Lara of her stress. She was able to help Lara make bridges in her thought process. After brainstorming back and forth with each other, a theory was finally reached: What if they travelled east, not west? As much as Japan was westernized, it still wasn't in the west.

Whitman didn't agree.

Madison remembers that day in the _Endurance_ kitchen quite well. She was sitting at the table, writing in her personal journal while the mechanic, Joslin Reyes, sat next to her, toying with something in her hands. Alex, the technician, was busy on his laptop. Sam was at the other end of the table, reading a book. Jonah, the ship's chef, was busy cooking something in a rather large pot (which Madison had no doubt that he was going to ask for her help soon) while Roth and Grim, the helmsman, were busy listening to the radio. Whitman was standing right behind her, which she did not like, with Lara as they argued about Lara's theory.

(A disclaimer: Madison was not going to take credit for the theory. Lara was the one who came up with it, really. Madison just helped her come to the conclusion.)

"How can you suggest that I'm not serious about this expedition, Lara?" Whitman had fumed. "It's not just Sam's family funding us, I've put my savings on the line too."

"We've all got some kind of stake in this," Reyes piped up, looking up to the lead archaeologist. "The funding won't last forever, Whitman."

"That's precisely why we should push east, not west!" Lara continued her argument.

"It makes sense," Madison pointed out, neck craning to look at the two archaeologists behind her.

Whitman scoffed. "No one believes Yamatai's that far east. The books simply don't support it!"

Madison was about to refute, but Sam had beat her to it.

"Well, whoever wrote those books never found Yamatai."

"Thank you!" Madison said, acknowledging Sam with a grateful gesture. Sam gave her a smile of acknowledgement in return. Madison liked Sam, she was sweet and supportive.

"I've talked to Roth about this," Lara continued with Whitman, as she made the older man look at the map she had marked out. "There's no point in following other people's steps, Doctor Whitman."

It was silent. Then….

"I refuse to bet my reputation on your hunch!"

Madison rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure how long she could hold back until she snapped at the man.

"I'm the lead archaeologist here."

That's i—

"And when were you last in the field without a TV crew behind you?" Grim snipped. Madison had to cover her mouth with her hand as she fought the urge to laugh out loud at the helmsman's remark. She saw Reyes give her a look from the corner of her eye.

"I've got thirty years' experience, two PhDs, one in East Asian history. So why don't you stick to boats, Mr. Grim?"

"Ship, Doctor Whitman. It's a ship. Don't need a PhD to know that." Grim grumbled heavily in his Scottish accent.

"Look, going east will take us directly into the Dragon's Triangle. That's where we need to go," Lara started up once more. Madison couldn't help but feel sorry for Lara, because Whitman was never going to listen to her.

"After all, it's _East_ Asian history," Madison snarked. Whitman did not look very appreciative at her remark, but Madison could hear Sam and Alex snicker at her sass. Reyes shot her disapproving look, this time more apparent. While this happened, Jonah had appeared at the table, telling Lara that the Dragon's Triangle had a bad energy to it.

"Bad storms more like; makes the Bermuda Triangle look like Disney World. Sign me up." Alex finally spoke. Everyone looked towards him. Madison physically grimaced. She trusted Alex, and if what he said was true….

"The stories about Queen Himiko say she could summon storms. Myths are usually based on some version of the truth. What if Yamatai was somewhere in the Triangle itself?"

By the time Lara had finished, Alex had successfully hacked into the satellites and showed the table what the screen was showing him.

"Look, this is the satellite imagery from inside the Dragon's Triangle."

Both Reyes and Madison leaned in closer to look at the footage. Madison had to adjust her glasses to make sure she was seeing correctly. This was when Madison, along with the rest of the crew, realized that Alex wasn't being dramatic about how bad the storms were.

"Oh shit," Madison swore. They were thinking about sailing into _that_? Listen, she was all in supporting Lara but if she died, she was going to haunt everyone on this expedition, and then herself.

"That doesn't look good," Sam eventually broke the brief tension.

"If it's wet, I can sail on it," Grim stated lowly. Madison almost jumped at the sound of his voice, not realizing how close he was to her now.

"Oh, don't tell me you're seriously cons—" Whitman began, but Roth cut him off.

"Enough!" the captain had snapped, getting up from his seat. "Reyes is right, we don't have enough funds to piss about. It's now or never. Lara's offering fresh ideas and a plan. I'm the captain here, it's my decision. We're going into the Dragon's Triangle."

"Why am I even here?" Whitman huffed, leaving the table.

Madison smiled, satisfied in knowing that Whitman had lost this argument.

While at first Madison internally celebrated the success of Whitman losing, the feeling of jubilation quickly died down. The closer they were to the Dragon's Triangle, the more Madison felt apprehension seep into her body. She couldn't help but think that Jonah _was_ on to something: the location was giving off bad vibes.

* * *

Madison had gone to her room early that night. They were in the Dragon's Triangle now and she felt such a heavy weight on her chest, but she did not know why. It was as if her Spidey senses were tingling. She drank with some of the crewmembers in hopes to calm her nerves down, but it did not really help her.

After the little social event, Madison retired to her room. She noted that her roommate was not in the room, and Madison couldn't help but feel relief at _that_. She liked Steph, but she needed some alone time.

Deciding not to put on her pajamas yet, Madison climbed up to the top bunk (as Steph did not like heights) and reclined against the wall. She shut her eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

"Everything is fine, you're just on edge for no reason," Madison whispered to herself. Fortunately for her, she was able to fall asleep quickly. It was a short, dreamless sleep, because Jonah's speculation and Madison's anxiety were right: the Dragon's Triangle was a bad place.

At around 11:30 PM, Madison was suddenly awakened by a loud crash and the sound of thunder. She did not have time to register what was happening as for the next thing she knew, she was thrown off the top of her bunk and onto the floor of her cabin.

Madison let out a hiss of pain as her hand immediately went to the shoulder that took the brunt of the fall. Fuck, that hurt! The young woman did not have much time to figure out what was going on, because someone was helping her up. Madison was able to recognize that it was Steph, her roommate.

"Maddie! Maddie, get up! Come on!"

"Wha…?" Madison mumbled, pushing Steph's away, as she balanced herself. Slowly but surely, Madison recognized the distress and the blaring sounds of the ship's alarms. "What's happening?"

"I don't know but something is happening. I think we're evacuating!"

"Oh shit!" Madison swore, as she made sure her converse were secured (double-knotted) on her feet. She sprang into action, grabbing her satchel-like purse before throwing her phone and a few other things in it. As soon as she was finished, Madison ran out into the hallways Steph. They weren't together for long, though, as they soon got separated by the chaos happening on the _Endurance_.

Now, Madison wasn't exactly sure what was going on but by the loud crashing sounds of the sky and sea, and the blaring of the sounds and how the emergency lights were on, she was pretty sure that they needed to abandon ship…and fast.

Madison began running up to deck, and that's where Jonah found her.

"Maddie! We need to get out of here! Have you seen Lara or Sam?" Jonah had to scream due to how loud the storms were. Jesus, Alex wasn't lying when he said the storms were massive on the radar map!

"No, I haven't!" Madison shouted back. "Where are the—?"

Suddenly, there was a rather large and bright lightning bolt appearing out of nowhere and before Madison could register what was even happening, the Endurance broke in half with a loud, disturbing crack. Suddenly, the deck below her was very wobbly and cavey and before she could level herself, she practically flew backwards as another strike of lightning hit the ship and sunk right into the dark sea.

Madison would never forget this moment for as long as she lived. The waters were rough and cold. She could barely swim due to how harsh the currents were. She was freezing to the bone. She could feel it all in that moment and she knew it would be a thousand times worse if she could get above surface.

Eventually, somehow, Madison was able to get above the surface. She had a difficult time breathing and her long, thick hair was soaking wet and clinging to her, but she was able to kick her way to the surface. It was in good timing, too, because she spotted one of the lifeboats just mere feet away from her. She saw Reyes first, standing and taking command.

"Reyes!" Madison yelled as loud as she could, as she began swimming over to the lifeboat. (Well, it was more like being pushed by the waves.) She began coughing as she made her way over. She saw some of the people in the boat, but she couldn't quite make them out, as she didn't have her contacts in or glasses on. Hopefully, her glasses were in her purse.

"Holy shit, is that Madison?" Alex yelled out. That had caught Reyes' attention and she looked in the direction where the technician and a few others were looking in. She had spotted the young girl almost immediately.

"Madison!" Reyes shouted in what sounded like a panic. "Get over here! Hurry!"

Madison complied, kicking and swimming as fast as she could. It was hard getting to the lifeboat, as the waves knocked into her and she felt heavy due to her wet clothes. Fortunately, Madison was able to make it to the boat and Alex and a deckhand pulled her to safety. Madison was coughing and spluttering at this point, water exiting her lungs. Someone was patting their hand on her back, as if they were supporting her or helping get the water to leave her system. Either way, the sentiment was appreciated.

It was sooner rather than later when the lifeboat finally reached to shore. Practically everyone jumped out, not caring if they got wet. Poor Madison, though. She was tired of that cold, drenched feeling already. One of the deckhands had to practically carry her out.

The _Endurance_ crew found themselves on the shore. Save for the occasional yet frequent flashes of lighting, it was so dark Madison couldn't make out much of the shadowy structures.

Madison couldn't afford to think much right now, save for the goal on getting herself stabilized. The deckhand that was kind enough to drag her out of the lifeboat and place her by the fi—wait, fire? How long had it been since they reached this makeshift campsite? And when did Madison take off her shirt, leaving her in just her camisole? The young woman found it frustrating as she could not remember. It was as if she zoned out—blocked out? Yeah, she had no idea. It was terrifying.

As Madison looked out onto the shore, she couldn't help but think of how chaotic the storm was, as it continued to be brash and unforgiving. The dark waters of the sea were wild, illuminated every few seconds from the lighting. Madison was also able to see how there seemed to be a lot of wreckage and salvage on the shores of the beach they were on. She could vaguely remember yelling and Reyes being _pissed_ , but no details followed. The best Madison could do was sit, watch, and wait.

Eventually, the storms did stop, and all appeared calm...except that it wasn't. The _Endurance_ crew did not know just how much trouble they were yet to be in.

Madison was able to recover quickly. Her clothes were still a little damp, but she was sure that once the sun was up and she was moving she would be dry in no time.

The night was rough, to say the least. The crew of _Endurance_ were scattered about. Madison found that she was in the company of Reyes, who acted as leader. Alex was with them too, the same with Jonah and eventually, Grim. Whitman was also part of the little group as well, which Madison wasn't too keen on. There were a few other crew members but some of them died. She could vaguely remember watching Alex perform CPR on one of the deckhands as she sat by the fire.

Some people, however, were unaccounted. Sam was missing and so was Lara. Madison worried for them. They were her friends and she hoped they were alive and safe. Madison couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in her stomach. Something was _definitely_ off about this place, and it wasn't just because their ship had been destroyed, leaving them stranded. The place seemed...eerie and far too quiet.

While Sam, Lara, and a few others were unaccounted for, Roth was not. He had contacted the group via radio. After a small chat with the captain, it was decided that the group was going to meet up with him and try to figure out what the hell was going on.

Reyes had ordered for them be prepared for anything, which Madison took to heart. Joslin Reyes was a woman who took no nonsense and even in the unknown, seemed to know what she was doing. Whitman acted as second in command, but Madison didn't trust nor want his judgement. If she had to rank the people she was in on how she trusted them, Whitman would be on the bottom of the list. In her opinion, he was _that_ dumb when it came to safety and survival.

As the small group ventured out on the island, Madison had found that her clothes did in fact dry out perfectly. Her hair was still a bit damp but that came as no surprise to her, seeing she had thick hair. (The humidity did not help, either.) The group stayed close, occasionally hiding in the bushes when they heard someone come near. In their short time on the island, they figured out there were others among them and judging by their looks and conversation, they were not too friendly. Madison made sure that she was with the group as much as she could.

The sun was beginning to set when the radio on Alex sparked to life.

 _"Reyes? Are you there?"_

"Madison, answer him," Reyes ordered the petite girl.

"Okay," Madison nodded as Alex handed her the radio. Madison took it, pressing down on a button in order to reply to Roth.

"Roth? It's me, it's Madison," Madison said. "Reyes is busy. Do you need something?"

 _"Tell her that I had to move location, though not too far from where I was,"_ Roth said. _"Lara is alive, too. She'll be regrouping with us as well. Have you run into any trouble?"_

"Uh, not yet. We've been close a few times," Madison answered. "Have you encountered anyone?"

 _"No, but I've been listening. We've got to get off this island, fast. Something's not right about this place."_

 _No kidding,_ Madison thought. If Roth was concerned, then they all should be.

"I agree with that. Tell us where you're at, and we'll see you soon."

Roth told her the new location and signed off the channel. When Madison was about to inform the group what was happening, a new voice came through.

 _"Hello? Is anybody there?"_

Madison answered immediately, stopping in her tracks. "Sam? Is that you?"

 _"Yes!"_ Sam replied, relieved. _"Are you okay?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm with some of the others but everyone else is scattered around. Where are you? Are you okay?"

 _"I sprained my ankle, but Mathias patched me up."_

Madison paused, somewhat taken aback. Who was Mathias? She didn't know anyone by that name who was on the _Endurance_. Glancing around, she saw that the others were just as perplexed.

"Mathias?" Madison asked.

 _"He found me straggling. He's stranded here too, like us."_

Madison looked to Reyes, not knowing what to say next.

"Hand it to me," Reyes said. Madison nodded.

"Hey, Sam, Reyes wants to talk to you, I'm handing the radio over to her," Madison informed her friend, before passing the radio to Reyes. She didn't hear what Sam and Reyes were talking about but as soon as Reyes signed off she informed the group that they were going to get Sam.

"Look out for the smoke, that's where we'll find Sam and Mathias," Reyes informed. Madison looked up to the sky, eyesight adjusting until she saw the symbol they needed.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Madison muttered, loud enough for Alex to hear.

"You and me both," Alex agreed.

As the group ventured farther in the woods, Madison couldn't help but wonder: What the hell were they getting themselves into?


	2. CHAPTER TWO: WHAT IS THIS PLACE?

**A/N:** Chapter 2, here we go!

* * *

It was dark out. Reyes, Jonah, Alex, Grim, Whitman, and Madison had been walking for close to a quarter of an hour now.

Everyone was on high alert. Reyes had her pistol in her hands, the end facing down to the ground. Jonah had his shotgun in his hands while Grim appeared to have his own pistol as well. The only people who didn't have weapons drawn out were Alex, Whitman, and Madison. Alex had a pistol tucked away but close enough to reach if needed. Whitman and Madison didn't have a weapon to call their own, unless you considered a hairbrush, a few pens and other everyday items Madison had in her purse as a weapon.

It had started raining again, with thunder and lightning appearing every few seconds. It was windy as well. The weather was making Madison shiver.

The walk was one with no trouble. Reyes was up front, leading the congregation with Jonah not far behind her. Alex was behind him and in front of Madison. Whitman was behind Madison as Grim was in the back. Grim was a tough old man, so Madison wasn't worried for him. He was like her grandma: a feisty elder who wasn't afraid of anything. Despite his old age, Grim could pack a punch like no other. He wasn't someone Madison wouldn't want to cross.

As the group of five neared Sam's location (it was incredible how the fire was still lit, Madison thought), they all suddenly heard a young woman scream. Alert, the group moved faster, with Reyes almost running up the hill. When she got to the top, the older woman looked back to the group, motioning for them to follow her.

"Over here!"

"Reyes!" Madison could hear a young, familiar voice yell out.

"I found Lara!"

Jonah, Alex, Madison, Whitman, and Grim wasted no time in getting to Lara and Reyes. As Madison reached to the level of the terrain, she saw Reyes point her pistol down in Lara's direction and fired a shot. Madison was confused but then as she got closer, she saw that Lara's foot was caught in a bear trap. Madison winced at the sight. That had to hurt.

Jonah knelt on one knee, prying the jaws of the trap open and helping Lara off the ground.

"It's good to see you, Little Bird," Jonah greeted as he and Reyes helped Lara off the ground.

"Are you okay?" Madison asked.

"I'll be fine," Lara said. "Is Sam with you?"

The group was puzzled by Lara's question.

"She was with you?" Jonah voiced everyone's perplexity.

"She was here...with that man Mathias but I passed out," Lara explained as she used her makeshift bow to support herself. That bear trap had to hurt, Madison thought as she physically grimaced. "When I woke up, they were both gone."

Uh oh.

"You girls shouldn't go wandering off!" Grim mumbled but it was loud enough for the group to hear.

"Uh…" Madison couldn't help but let out. "I don't think—"

"We need to find them," Lara finished, interrupting Madison's thought. Madison closed her mouth, shutting up. Lara was right, they did need to find the two missing people. At least, they needed to find Sam. Madison didn't trust this Mathias character, especially since Sam was most likely with him. He probably kidnapped her.

"Uh, w-wait, what about Roth?" Whitman brought up. Shit, Madison forgot that they were supposed to regroup with him.

Reyes was quick to form a plan. "Okay, let's split up. One of us go with Lara and meet up with Roth. The rest of us should fan out and look for Sam."

"I'll go with her," Alex volunteered immediately, but Whitman had objected to it.

"No, no...let me," Whitman said. Madison shot him a weird look, as did Reyes. After a moment, Reyes passed over her pistol to him.

"You know how to use one of these?" Reyes asked.

"It's...it's been a while. It-It's all coming back to me," Whitman stuttered. Madison rolled her eyes, not believing him for one second. No one paid mind, as Reyes and Jonah began to run off with Grim way ahead of them.

"Get to Roth, we'll find Sam and this Mathias guy," Alex said. "Come on, Mads."

"We'll see you soon, good luck," Madison said, waving her left hand to Lara as she departed, catching up with Alex.

"Stay close to me," Alex ordered. "We need to find something for you to defend yourself with."

"I'll be fine. I'm sure I can find something in my purse," Madison assured her older friend.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you're going to need something more powerful than a hairbrush," Alex said. Madison could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

"Hey, you know I hit hard, with or without the hairbrush," Madison retorted with humor in her voice.

Alex let out a small laugh, knowing what she was referring to. "Yeah, I know. I haven't forgotten."

It was silent between the two. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, as they have known each other for years. Their parents were close friends, leading to the pair to have a family-type of relationship between them. Alex was like an older brother to her, if she had one. Instead, she had an older sister and if you did not count her two children, Madison was the baby in her family.

Alex and Madison surveyed the area around them. The rain had stopped once again, but the ground was still wet. Madison almost slipped on the stone paths once or twice but was able to keep her footing.

"Do you have any idea where we're at?" Alex asked.

"You mean where we're currently at? Or where the hell we crashed at?" Madison asked as she looked around. There was no sign of Sam or the Mathias man. However, there was an abundant amount of architecture, old and new with plenty of statues in various states of conditions.

"Either," Alex said. Madison nodded in an understanding gesture, making a face. Both would be good to know.

"Well, I think we're out of the forest," Madison began. "We might be on our way to a temple or village of sorts, but I can't say for sure. Where we wrecked in, I'm not sure. I think we are in Japan's territory...hell, we might even be on Yamatai."

"Yamatai?" Alex asked. "You really think the place is real?"

"It could be," Madison answered honestly. After diving into research, she had to admit that there was text backing up the idea. "The Queen, Himiko, was definitely a real figure. Did you know that the first mention of Himiko is in early Chinese classic text?"

"No," Alex answered truthfully. He was about to add more—most likely to call his friend a nerd—but then Jonah suddenly came burling through the trees.

"Come on, we got to get the hell out of here!" Jonah shouted, stumbling to a stop.

"What? Why?" Madison asked, alarmed. Jonah didn't need to answer, as the three members of _Endurance_ heard the yells of men.

"Get him!"

"Kill them!"

Jonah, Alex, and Madison ran like hell as the voices of the unknown came closer. These people had begun to shoot at them, and the three _Endurance_ members had to spread out to avoid getting hit.

As Madison ran, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. On instinct, the young woman crouched and rolled. It was just in the nick of time, as she heard an arrow whiz by and hit the trunk of a tree.

"We're coming for you!" one of the men taunted.

 _I think the fuck not!_ Madison screamed in her head, as she yanked the arrow out of the tree. It could be useful, she thought as she scurried into the shrubbery and eventually behind a fragment of stone wall. Once she got into position, she froze in her spot and forced herself to hold her breath.

 _Don't move. Don't make a sound,_ Madison was telling herself, as she gripped somewhere in between the arrow tip and shaft. She had to prepare herself for the worst.

Time slowly passed, and the men did not detect her. They were not very happy, judging by their angry ranting:

"I can't believe she fucking escaped!" one of the men cried out. "What if the girl Mathias nabbed isn't the key? The other one could have been it!"

"Relax, brother. Father Mathias believes he has the one. He said she knew a lot about the island," the other man responded. While he was not happy, he seemed more relaxed than his "brother", as he had put it. Meanwhile, Madison was relieved that they did notice her, but she couldn't help but be confused. "We need to find the other survivors."

"Do you think we'll get any new recruits?"

"If we did, they're not going to last long."

"Why?"

There was a pause before his brother answered.

"How long has the last batch been in the pit?"

The two men were farther away, so their conversation was harder to hear. Despite that, a million thoughts and questions were running in Madison's mind, as their conversation garnered both interest and confusion.

First, one of the men had mentioned that Mathias had taken a girl. Madison had no doubt that they were referring to Sam. What Madison did not understand, however, was the "key" concept. What was the key? Sam? But then one of them was angry because Madison wasn't caught, because _she_ could have been the key if Sam wasn't it. What did that mean? Deep down, Madison knew that it wasn't good. She did not want to think of the outcome or the test that was no doubt going to be played out.

Then they were talking about rounding up survivors and a recruitment. A recruitment for what? To join them? But then it was said that the recruits were not going to last...what was it? The last batch was in the pit? What did that mean? Were there other survivors on the island?

The more Madison thought about those two big questions, the more nausea she felt. Hell, just the mere thought of Sam being the "key"...Jesus Christ, they had to get off the island. _Now_. Too bad they were stranded until further notice. Goddamn it.

"Maddie?" she heard someone whisper-shouted her name. "Maddie, are you there?"

Madison carefully peered over the wall, noticing Jonah and Alex were back. They were looking for her.

Carefully, Madison stalked towards them, whispering back to them.

"Hey!"

They heard her, then spotted her, then greeted her.

"Oh, thank God. We thought we lost you," Jonah explained.

"You lost the men, but not me," Madison replied, as she adjusted her glasses. "Anyone spot you yet?"

"Not yet," Alex answered. "But we need to get the fuck out of here. They're starting fires now."

Alex gestured to the direction he came from, and both Madison and Jonah peered in that view. Alex wasn't lying. You could see the bright yellow and orange flames all the way from their location.

"Let's go."

* * *

While they haven't been on the island for long, the crew of _Endurance_ knew that they were in trouble. They were shipwrecked on some unknown island and were being chased down—no, hunted—by the inhabitants. Who were they? What did they want?

As of right now, no one had the answers. The best they could come up with is that the inhabitants were some sort of cult (according to Roth, they acted like one). Madison had to agree, as she explained about what she had overheard about Sam, a key, and recruitment. Jonah looked sickened by this revelation, and the rest of the group held similar emotions.

However, if these people were a cult, who were they worshipping? Madison had noticed that there were ritual figures and paintings around the places that did have some sort of standing structure. It could be Queen Himiko. She _was_ a priestess. If that was the case, then the island they were on would be Yamatai...but was it?

As much as that's why Madison was here, she told herself that she shouldn't be thinking about the expedition. Right now, they had to find Sam and find a way off the island. Lara had called in earlier, telling the now regrouped survivors that she was going to send out an S.O.S. message from a radio tower. Madison had an idea on what she was talking about. From her location, she could see a red light flicker in the distance, presumably from the radio tower. It reminded her of the few cell towers she could see from when she was at her house.

Subconsciously, Madison reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. As she expected, she had no service. She unlocked her phone and looked at some of her last texts. Some included the conversations she was having with her best friend, one from her dad that said "Good night. Love you…", and another included her niece sending her tons of emojis from her iPod.

Madison couldn't help but feel a little sad as she skimmed through messages. She knew her family were most likely paranoid at this point, not hearing from her for at least 24 hours. If only the island had service, then Madison could send a message to the outside world. Best case scenario: Lara succeeds in the distress call and they're off the island. Worst case scenario: she fails, and they all die. God, if they were to die...how would her family react? The mere thought of her family never finding out what happened was a heartbreaking thought.

 _No, you can't think like that_ , Madison scolded herself. _We_ will _find a way out of here._

Reyes had decided to keep everyone together, as they were all aware that they were outnumbered by the islanders. No one was sure how many stragglers there were, and they didn't want to find out, either. It was clear that they were dangerous and lethal. Madison was pretty sure "Kill them!" is not the way to make friends with someone.

The group had to be careful walking around, as the islanders—Solarii, as the crew eventually learned—were scouting out. From bits of conversations Madison had heard, the _Endurance_ crew was one of their main topics. Mathias also popped up in conversation every now and then. The Solarii mainly talked about finding the remaining survivors and pondered on the possibility if one of the girls were "the key", with references to Sam the most. That made Madison feel sick. At this point, she was sure "the key" was a reason why there weren't any women on the island besides the ones from the _Endurance_.

The thought made her shudder.

Jesus Christ, where was Sam? Besides references to her by the Solarii, she and Mathias were hard to track down. However, the _Endurance_ crew were on some sort of track, and that was better than nothing and being scattered.

Eventually, Lara had called in. She had to talk to Alex, who was the expert with technology and all that jazz. The young woman had reported to him that the console was nonfunctional. Alex had then explained that she needed to find the maintenance panel...which, for a model like the one they had to deal with, would be at the top of the tower itself.

 _Fuck,_ Madison thought. _Luck isn't on our side today. Sorry, Lara._

The remaining members of the _Endurance_ continued to trek through the humid forests of the island. Reyes was still in the lead as Madison was in the middle, between Alex and Jonah. She studied the scenery around her, sighing as she thought that everything was starting to look the same. She hoped that Lara would be successful in her mission.

 _Please be successful_.

Madison felt a nudge on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Jonah looking down on her.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just worried is all," Madison answered. "I hope Lara is able to fix the control panel."

"Me too," Jonah agreed. He was about to add something to the conversation, but then the walkie-talkie sparked to life.

 _"Alex?"_

Madison quickly unhinged the communication device from her, handing it to Alex. He almost dropped it while responding to Lara. Madison had to hold in her laughter at her friend's clumsiness. Madison knew that Alex had a crush on the young archaeologist and his fluster was showing.

"Lara?"

 _"I'm at the panel."_

The group found a place nearby to rest. Madison and Reyes sat upon rocks while Alex stood, instructing Lara on how to tune the radio. As much as the situation was bad, Madison was relieved that she didn't have to do the work Lara needed to. The pressure was on Lara at this point. Also, the fact that Lara had to _climb_ all the way to the top? _Without_ safety measurements? Yeah, no.

After Alex had given Lara all the help he could, he handed the walkie talkie back to Madison, sitting down next to her. He sighed heavily, and Madison couldn't help but mimic the action.

"It's rough," Alex said, a worried expression etched on his face.

"Lara will get us help," Madison assured him, or for anyone who listened. She knew Jonah had faith, but Reyes was one of the more skeptical members of the group. Despite being under pressure, Madison knew that Lara could do it. She worked rather well under pressure...if it wasn't too much.

As Madison waited for a response, she began to realize how tired she was. Her adrenaline was beginning to die down, and the heat began to take its toll on her. She also began to feel a little snackish and while she knew that there was edible food growing on the island, she was in no mood to search. It didn't help that they were being hunted down by the islanders, either.

As Madison was considering searching in her bag for something to eat, the walkie-talkie sparked to life.

 _"Mayday, mayday! This is Lara Croft of the Endurance. We are stranded on an island in the Dragon's Triangle. We need help and medical supplies, please respond."_

"What's she saying?" Grim asked.

"She's calling for help...I think she was able to broadcast the signal!" Madison exclaimed, holding the communication device close to her ear. She could feel hope started to burn inside her. Alex and Jonah were reeled in as well. Reyes sat across from Madison with a clouded expression on her face.

Madison could hear Lara repeat her distress call again, and Madison began to grow anxious. What if the signal wasn't strong enough? What if—

Suddenly, there was a new voice Madison could hear. It sounded like it was coming from Lara's end...on the radio…

 _"This is aircraft N177A—"_

Madison had let out an excited gasp, the hand with the walkie-talkie stretching away from her. Alex took it as Madison let her excitement take over.

"What is it?" Reyes asked, as everyone watched their youngest crew member...dance? No one was exactly sure what she was doing.

"She got it!" Madison cheered and almost immediately, her mood had spread. A huge smile spread upon Jonah's face, while Grim looked relieved. Reyes was able to crack a smile too, which made Madison's own grin widen.

"Lara Croft, you are my hero!" Alex whooped. The interaction between Lara and the pilot must have ended, for Alex was not one to interrupt in a dire situation. "Maddie's doing her celebratory jig, and Reyes even cracked a smile!"

"Shut up, Alex!" Madison couldn't help but join in her friend's laughter. They were going to get the hell off this island and Madison felt like she could sing!

"She needs to give them a signal," Alex told the group. "She's thinking how to…"

Madison took the walkie-talkie right of his hands, sobering up immediately. Lara may need a consultant, and Alex wasn't always the best candidate for it.

"Lara, where are you?" Madison asked.

 _"The radio tower is where the barracks are at,"_ Lara responded. _"I'm thinking of a fire for the signal."_ Madison thought about it. _Tower...barracks...military?...boom?_

"You think the military left some fuel? I doubt a lot of them left this place, from what I've seen."

 _"Gas, fumes, military—yes! Thank you, Maddie."_

"Not a problem, just make sure we get the hell off this island, okay?"

Madison signed off, and she gave Reyes the walkie-talkie. She wanted to inform Roth of the plan. The older woman was successful in contacting their captain and after their conversation ended, the group began to venture out. While Lara was busy with the signal, the group would still look for Sam. They won't leave her behind. Or Whitman, either.

"Smart girls, thinking about military tactics," Grim commented with his thick Scottish accent.

Madison couldn't help but smile at the Scottish man's compliments. "Is that how you survived your time in service?"

Grim chuckled. "Aye. It's how me and Roth became friends."

"Nothing screams 'friendship' like going through crazy life experiences together," Madison said.

"Like what we're doing now?" Alex asked, humor etched in his voice.

Madison couldn't help but grin. "Oh, this one definitely takes the cake. This is definitely top five of my near death experiences."

"No shit," Alex agreed, thinking of all the times his young friend had almost kicked the bucket.

"How many near death experiences do you have?" Jonah asked, wondering if he really wanted to know that answer as he saw Madison pause to think.

"Way too many times to count," Madison admitted. She almost felt guilty when she saw the look on Jonah's face.

"Jesus," the cook muttered.

"What? You never had near death experiences?"

"Oh, I have. Just not as much as you apparently," Jonah told her. Alex laughed.

"Can the three of you be quiet? I'd rather not get caught by whoever lives here, and we need to find Sam." Reyes snapped at the trio. They fell silent immediately. "Thank you."

"No problem," Madison responded automatically. She respected Reyes, who had a point.

The group of five journeyed for an unknown amount of time. The group had been quiet, but it didn't stop them having minimal conversation. Mainly, they talked about Lara or Sam's current predicaments. Lara was busy getting a signal out, while Sam was MIA.

Madison was keeping to herself, as she walked behind everyone. She wasn't partaking too much in the conversation, despite being one to not shy away from the team. She hoped that Sam was okay. If one of those creepy looking men touched her in any way, she would kill them herself. She hoped Lara was doing well, with whatever she was doing.

All too sudden, the atmosphere changed. It was originally hot and muggy but now it was windy, and the air smelled different.

"It's about to storm," Madison muttered to herself. Grim turned to look at her.

"What was that, lass?"

"It's about to storm," Madison repeated, louder this time with warning. The others turned to look at her.

Madison looked up to the sky, hearing an engine. Madison's eyes widened as she saw the rescue plane in view. As the plane lowered altitude, dark gray clouds began to swirl behind the aircraft.

"Oh no," Madison whispered and suddenly, she heard a whisper in her head. She had no idea what the voice had said, but Madison had certainly received the message when she saw lightning strike the plane and it came barreling down onto the island.

"HOLY FUCK!"

* * *

 **A/N:** I'll let you guys decide who screamed "HOLY FUCK!" at the end :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! There isn't too much action yet, but we'll get to that very soon. As the story-line is rather fast, I'm sure you guys know where the surviving members of the _Endurance_ head towards next. It's about to (not) be fun!


	3. CHAPTER THREE: CAPTURED

**A/N:** Fuck it, we're getting an update.

* * *

"Holy fuck!"

"Oh my god!"

"What the hell?"

"Oh, shit!"

"Jesus, Mary, an' Joseph!"

Everyone was glued in place, watching in horror as the plane took a sharp nose dive as it was struck by a bright flash of lightning. The plane caught on fire, exploding as it undoubtedly combusted when it hit the ground...most likely where Lara was.

Shit.

What the fuck? Seriously, what in the absolute fuck was going on? Call Madison crazy, but there's no way that what had just happened was a coincidence. It was intended.

Madison couldn't ponder on it anymore, as Reyes ordered the group to keep moving. Despite the huge surprise they had just received, they couldn't do anything about it. They would have to contact Roth and, if they can, Lara.

Fuck. If Lara was dead right now, Madison would never forgive herself.

They had to keep moving, Madison knew that. They still had their goal of locating and rescuing Sam. Thankfully, the group had been able to follow some of the inhabitants of the island. They had mentioned—loudly—on how Mathias had taken a girl to the palace. That's where Sam had to be. Besides the ones from the Endurance, there were no other women on the island.

As the Endurance crew ventured further inland, they discovered more settlements of the island, ancient and modern alike. Madison noticed that there was an abundant amount of artifacts on the island, ranging from currency dating back to the seventh century to an abundant amount of military history on the island—both Japanese and American alike; World War II era.

The longer they were on the island, the more it became clear that this place had a long history, which was exciting yet terrifying to discover. One could not help but wonder what had happened here.

After discretely following the mysterious inhabitants, the Endurance party were able to follow them to some sort of makeshift settlement. The term shanty town briefly crossed Madison's mind as she observed the structure. What really caught her eye, however, was the palace high above it. From her viewpoint, you could tell that the palace was old and started to wear down or rot away in some places.

Definitely royalty, Madison thought. It was hard to distinguish what period the architecture was from, though. She was too far away to see details.

The Endurance party was off the path to the settlement, which was good. The environment helped the Endurance party blend in, and the men of the island were not too concerned about them at this point in time. All they talked about was Mathias, the key, and a ritual at this point.

As soon as a signal was found, Reyes used the radio to contact someone outside of the group. The rest awaited anxiously, hoping someone would pick up.

"Anyone out there? Roth?"

"I'm here, Reyes," the captain of the Endurance had immediately picked up. "What's your situation?"

Reyes kept him up to date. "We followed a group of men to some kind of...city. This is insane, Roth. What the hell are they doing here?"

"Isn't that the million dollar question?" Alex commented. No one replied to him as they listened to Roth's response.

"I don't know, and I don't think I want to know," Roth admitted. "Any sign of Sam or Whitman?"

"Nothing yet. Are you with Lara?"

"Yes. We'll be, uh...heading down the mountain soon to meet up with you."

Madison found herself relieved by the older man's answer. Lara was okay after all. Roth wouldn't lie to them about something like that. Anyone could tell that the two were close; Lara was practically his daughter. There was no denying that he had a soft spot for her. That's partially why the expedition went farther east...or was it farther south, now?

"Oh thank God," Madison sighed in relief. She heard Reyes tell Roth that the group would try to get to Sam before she signed off.

"Alright, let's keep moving. Everyone ready?" Reyes asked the group. Madison had to admit: she was glad Reyes was leading them. She knew what she was doing.

"Yes," everyone responded simultaneously. Reyes nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

It did not end well.

The group had entered the shanty town, which was right below the palace. According to the men on the island, that was where Sam was being held.

The objective was to sneak through the town, get to the palace to get Sam, then flee the scene. Unfortunately, the group was caught before the plan could be executed.

Madison couldn't fully put together what had happened—it all happened too quickly—but she could remember that one of the men must have spotted them, because there was an alarm blaring at a high frequency and the Endurance crew was ambushed within mere seconds.

"Oh, fuck!"

Madison could remember Reyes yelling that as the group was attacked. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the Endurance crew all gave their best. The gun wielders shot, and Madison had successfully slammed her hairbrush into the nose of one of the men. (And Alex thought she needed a gun. Ha!)

He did not like that at all.

"Get over here!" he yelled at her as she scampered off. These men may have been stronger than her, but she was small and could hide easily. She found that it was easy to distract the men, too. She would throw a rock in one direction and run the opposite way.

Unfortunately for Madison, her luck ran out quickly. She had tripped and one of the men was able to grab her, hauling her over his shoulder.

"Let go of me!" Madison yelled, slamming her fists into his back. She had tried kicking the man, but he had restrained her legs with his arm. God damn, this man was strong.

"Shut up. You're lucky that we're even keeping you alive," the man snarled.

Madison huffed, crossing her arms as she gave up in defeat.

"When my friends find out what you've done—"

"Who says your friends aren't in trouble like you?" the man asked. Madison felt her face drain.

Oh shit. If they were hurt—

"Could you at least put me down?" Madison asked, not wanting to overthink the fate of her friends and colleagues.

"No," the man replied. "You'll run off."

"Then tell me where my friends are!"

"No."

"You fucking better! If not I'll just break your fucking spine!" Madison began to yell at him. When someone bossed her around or made her angry, she would throw a fit. She had to try something in order to gain information. She was about to hit her captor directly on the spine, but the man's patience finally grew thin.

"Your friends are in the palace!" he yelled, feeling a headache growing. He couldn't help but think: Goddamn. This kid is annoying. "We're keeping you all locked up until the ritual, you got it?"

"Yes," Madison answered, when in reality she had no idea what the hell was going on. "Now can you please put me down?"

"No."

The man was true to his word. He carried Madison all through the shanty town and into the palace. This is where he put her down, but kept a tight grip on her.

"You run, we will kill you. Understand?"

Madison nodded. She would rather not die today, or anytime soon.

"Good."

The man led her through the palace and Madison had to admit, it was beautiful. It was decaying in some places, true, but it was being kept up to date to the best ability. Madison would bet that this was the nicest, aesthetically pleasing location the island had yet to offer. Why was that?

Madison was led into a room, where the rest of the Endurance crew were in. Some of the deckhands—people she had not seen since the wreck—were there, too. Were these men placing them all in the same location? In fact, why were they all still alive at this point? Madison figured that they would have been toast by now.

"Maddie, are you okay?" Jonah asked. He looked banged up. Everyone did, now that she thought about it.

"Yeah. Is this everyone?" Madison asked, looking around.

"Besides Sam, Lara, and Roth," Reyes confirmed. "You were the last one they hauled in."

"Really?" Madison asked, surprised by this revelation. She thought she would have been one of the first, if she had to be honest. She was small and not very strong.

"Really, lass. You must have some fightin' in ya," Grim chortled.

"That means a lot coming from you," Madison said to him. She meant it, too. Grim was one hardened old man.

"'Course it does," Grim nodded.

"So, do you know why we're all still alive?" Alex asked. Madison shook her head.

"No, but have you noticed how well kept this place is—wait a minute," Madison interrupted herself. She had a sudden realization. "You guys remember how they keep saying that there will be a ritual, and that Sam is the key?"

Some connected the dots, and some didn't.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"I think we're still alive because they want us to be. The man who dragged me in said that we would all be dead by now. Why do you think that?"

"Sam," Reyes answered.

"Oh, God," Jonah moaned.

"Yeah. We're all fucked," Madison sighed, sliding down against the wall. She buried her head in her arms. They were going to use Sam, somehow...and the Endurance was the leverage. (There was also a good chance that they may use Reyes or Madison herself if Sam was not the key...oh God. This was so nauseating.)

"What are we going to do?" Madison sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. She didn't feel it not too long ago but now that she was imprisoned, she had the time to sit and reflect. The ache in her shoulder from hitting the floor of the Endurance was starting to throb again.

"Roth and Lara are still out there. We don't know what they're going to do with Sam. We're trapped. What are we going to do?"

The group all sat in silence, wondering the same thing themselves. One of the deckhands who sat next to Madison placed a hand on her shoulder, offering silent comfort. Madison recognized him to be Jude; he was always kind to her and taught her how to play cards. He looked a little worse for wear, but otherwise he was okay.

The only one who was not stuck in morbid thought, however, was Grim. He had a grin on his face; a sign of trouble coming their way.

"I got an idea," the old Scottish man piped up, causing Madison and the rest of the Endurance members to look at him. "We make a run for it."

"Are you crazy?" Jonah was the first to respond.

"Yeah," Alex answered Jonah's question, making light of the situation. If the situation wasn't so serious, Madison would have rolled her eyes at his antics. "They'll bludgeon us to death, man."

"We all can't make a run for it," Reyes shook her head.

"No...but I can!" Grim insisted. "I'll need yer help."

"What do you need us to do?"

"I need a distraction...and perhaps some backup," Grim explained.

Madison nodded. "We can do that."

"Good to hear, lass," Grim grinned. He knelt at her side, rummaging through his jacket pocket. "Before we get started, I want you to have this."

Grim had pulled out a pocket knife and held it out to Madison.

"Oh, no, I don't think I can—"

"Maddie, you need a weapon. Everyone else has one but you. Don't worry about me, I can handle the bastards," Grim insisted, all but shoving the knife into Madison's palm. "You know how to use it?"

"Yes," Madison answered, as she studied it. She pressed the button and the sharp blade shot out. Feeling the weight of it, Madison concluded that it had a good balance and that if she tried hard enough, she could use it.

"Good. I think you can make use of it," Grim said earnestly. "Now, here's what we gon' do…"

The plan was very simple. The guards needed to be taken out so Grim could run like the devil. The old man had made his escape quite easy, though. He had simply called some of the guards over and taunted them, before ultimately attacking and killing some of them.

The Endurance members were able to help, though.

When Grim had started trouble, more members of the Solarii—as they verbally confirmed—ran over to help their fallen brother or two. While Grim was more than capable of taking out the men himself, he still needed help to escape. More or less, he needed a head start.

The Endurance members were able to help, though.

Everyone had a strategy: yell at the Solarii, then try to pack a punch in. The deckhands were pretty good with the physical aspects, but Madison was somewhat of an amateur in the insults and generally finding ways to piss people off.

Madison, however, had to commit her real first kill.

To her revelation, the action was not as hard as she thought it would be. It was as it almost came naturally...well, maybe not stabbing the guy right in the base of his skull by hey, she had to do what she had to do. At least, that's what she had to tell herself.

Here's what happened: as Madison and Alex were busy spewing as much bullshit as they could, other members of the captured party were physically fighting back. They were doing pretty good but then one of the Jude, her favorite deckhand became overpowered.

"Oh fuck," Madison had sworn under her breath before she charged towards Jude and the Solarii member, whose back was behind her. Without a second thought, Madison had jumped on his back, shouted "Hey, motherfucker!", stabbed the man's neck vertebrae before she retracted the knife and stabbed the man at the base of his skull.

The man went down immediately, and Madison was able to bounce onto her feet and pocketed her knife quickly.

Her actions were not well liked by Solarii. They were furious that a little girl like her was able to do that. She killed their brother. One of them went for Madison who tried to fight back, but she was inevitably knocked down. Specifically, her rival had hit her so hard that she hit the stone floor and stomped on her.

"You killed our brother!" he screamed, and went in for another punch but then then Jude, the deckhand she saved, had saved her from further harm by overpowering their captor.

Madison wished that she was able to thank him, but she had blacked out. Madison was unsure of how long she was out, but she had regained conscious a few times. The most she could remember from that was the pungent smells of rotting and decomposing...yeah, the very thought mad her want to vomit. She didn't want to remember any of that or the crazy, broken laughter either.

Once Madison had fully woken up, she could vaguely register that her surroundings were new. The floor she laid on was hollow and cool to the touch. She could smell dust and metal. It was evident that she was no longer in the room, or at inside the palace.

"She's awake!" came the sound of Jonah's voice. Madison groaned, eyes screwing shut as her hands flew over them. _Fuck_ , she thought. This hurts.

There was a sudden shift and someone was kneeling next to the young woman. She felt herself tense at the company, and the fact that she swore she was swaying. She didn't want to know where she was at.

"Maddie, hey Maddie, hey," she heard Alex. "You gotta get up. You can't sleep."

Madison groaned but slowly (too slow for everyone's preference and concern) sat up, with Alex supporting her. He handed her her glasses, which were now a bit cracked, and she put them on. Blinking once, then twice, Madison's sight became better and she became more aware of her surroundings.

"Where are we?" Madison asked, looking around. She noted that their new space was significantly smaller and cage-like, if the bars had anything to say.

"After Grim's escape, they locked us all up here," Reyes had explained, sounding irritated. She shook the bars, and the room started swaying. Madison scrambled out of Alex's reach, freaking out.

"Are we up in the air?"

"They didn't want to take any chances with us," Jonah explained.

Madison nodded slowly, looking around. It smelled like metal, fuel, and must. There were also only four people in the cage: Reyes, Jonah, Alex, and Madison herself.

"Where are the others?" Madison asked.

"Most of them got killed when Grim escaped," Reyes explained. "And they took Jude somewhere else."

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

"I hope so," Jonah said, but the look on his face indicated to Madison that he wasn't sure if Jude would be okay at all. He seemed spooked about something, but Madison wasn't sure what made him so perturbed.

"So Grim did escape?" Madison decided to change the topic. "That's good. Maybe he can get to Roth or Lara."

Time passed slowly. Madison was sitting down again, back leaning against the wall of the cage with Alex adjacent from her, mirroring her position. Reyes and Jonah were standing at opposite ends, seemingly keeping their suspended prison balanced.

The downtime gave Madison time to process what had happened to her since they arrived at this mysterious, deadly place. So much had happened, where did she even start? Madison began to compile a list in her head.

 _1\. The Endurance definitely wrecked in a storm, somewhere in the Dragon's Triangle._

Surviving the wreck itself was not going to escape Madison for a long time, if ever. The loud sounds of the sirens, being thrown backwards into the cold, dark sea...yeah. That definitely happened.

 _2\. Steph is most likely dead, along with most of the crew._

Madison had yet to see her roommate, and doubted that she was still alive. It made Madison sad to think about. Steph was nice, and Madison hoped that she went quickly if she wasn't alive. She hoped that nothing grotesque happened. Speaking of worry...

 _3\. Sam is a hostage, and very important to the cult._

Madison had yet to fully understand this and quite frankly, she didn't want to know. All she knew about was that Sam could help the cult in some way and if she did not pass the test, they might turn to Madison next. She doubted that they would risk it with Reyes.

The thought of being used in any way by the men made Madison feel nausea. If her dark thoughts had any truth to them, then she really hoped that Sam was okay. If they hurt her in any way, Madison would find a way to kick their asses. Speaking of kicking ass

 _4\. How was I able to last this long?_

There was no way Madison had been able to last this long. She was under five foot, not an athlete by any means (unless you count all those years of ballet), and weak. She also hurt her shoulder pretty bad, albeit the pain being subdued for a while.

Time must have been slow for the guards on duty, because someone kept waving their light around. Madison's eyes would catch the bright light, causing her to shrink backwards, screwing her eyes shut.

Reyes was not amused with the man's foolery.

"Keep it up, you son of a bitch! When I get out of here I'm gonna to shove one of those arrows right up your ass!"

Madison's mouth twitched at the woman's heated words, not concerned that Reyes jerked their cell.

"Haha, this one's got a temper!" one of the men chuckled.

"Hey! Don't rile them up! We're working here!" one of the other men scolded. Madison crawled over to where Reyes was standing, peering through the bars. From her view, she could see two men.

"This cage is overkill," someone else said.

"Yeah, well, when the old man busted out and that girl up there killed one of our brothers, they didn't want to take any chances," the man—presumably the one who scolded the flash light man; he looked like he was a welder of some sort—explained.

Holy fuck, I really did kill that guy, Madison thought to herself. She had almost forgotten about that. She felt guilty about the death, but deep down knew that if she hadn't done what she had, then she and the others would be dead. (Even when that was the truth, that didn't mean that it wasn't traumatic or haunting.)

"These new ones are trouble. We should just...send them all to the Oni!" the other man had declared.

The Oni? Madison thought. Who the fuck are the Oni? Aren't they demons? Fuck it, she had enough of this goddamned place. She needed to get out of here.

"So, what do you think is going to happen?" the Oni man asked.

"The Sun Queen. She is finally going to lead us off this rock," the welder explained.

"The Sun Queen?" Madison whispered to herself. Himiko?

"So it's all real? She's real?" Oni man asked.

"She is," the welder replied, "and nothing is going to stop us."

Madison gulped.

"I can't believe it. It's been so long," Oni man reminisced.

"Everything's going to change, brother. You'll see," the welder promised.

What the fuck? Madison thought, as she slowly stood up. Her head was spinning and her vision went spotty, causing her to grip to the bars. Fuck, she must be in worse condition than she originally thought.

Is...are they talking about Himiko? Is this really Yamatai? Madison tried to reflect on her own knowledge, but she found it to be difficult. Especially when she saw Lara Croft murder the two men in her sight.

"Holy fuck!" Madison yelped in surprise, as the rest of the prisoners started cheering. Madison would have joined too, but she was in shock. Not only did she watch two men be taken out, but Lara was alive! "Lara!"

"That was badass, Lara!" Alex complimented the young woman. Madison had to admit, that was true. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"I had some help," Lara replied, seemingly out of breath. Her reply, however, made Madison light up more.

"Was it Grim?" Madison asked.

"Yes," Lara nodded. She paused, and the silence alone made Madison know what Lara was about to say next.

"He didn't make it."

Even though Madison knew, she was still in shock. She felt her face melt into one of shock. She almost couldn't believe it.

"Shit," Reyes swore, swatting at the bars.

"I didn't think anything could take that guy down," Jonah commented, speaking out what the rest were thinking.

"He went out swinging, gave me a chance to get you," Lara explained before she changed the subject. "Look, there's a rescue helicopter on its way. I know they're keeping Sam separately. Have you seen Whitman?"

As much as Madison was relieved that Sam was alive, her mood darkened at the mention of Whitman.

"Guess he didn't make it to the guest rooms," Reyes shrugged. Madison had no idea what she meant by that, and to be honest? She didn't want to know.

"Mr. Showbiz probably weaseled an upgrade," Alex shrugged. Madison didn't realize that he was sitting back down until she heard just how close he was to her.

"We'll find him, and Sam, too," Jonah assured, kneeling next to Alex.

"We can't do anything up here, though," Madison pointed out, grimacing as she looked around. "Can you get us out?"

"I'll find a way to get you out," Lara assured the group. She looked around, trying to see if she could get to them in any way.

"C'mon, guys. Let's try to loosen this thing up," Reyes said to Madison, Alex, and Jonah. She motioned for the men to get back up. "C'mon, guys. Again!"

Alex and Jonah both got back up, clutching to the bars of the cage.

"Okay, ready?" Jonah asked. "Jump!"

The four prisoners jumped. They could hear their cage creak and move little, but no big improvement was made. Madison did begin to smell natural gas, though. It couldn't be from them, could it?

"It's no use, Reyes," Alex moaned.

"Shut up, Alex," Madison snapped at him. "We have to try."

"Ready?" Jonah asked. "JUMP!"

The four prisoners jumped again. The echo was louder this time, and they swayed a little more than their previous attempt. No major improvement was made, though. They were still pretty much stuck.

God damn it.

"God damn it," Reyes swore. Madison couldn't help but grin, as the mechanic had just the young girl's thoughts.

"Lara, there's some weird shit going on here," Alex said to Lara, who had began to pace around on the ground.

"We heard them talking about a sun spirit," Jonah added.

"Sun Queen," Lara corrected. "The ancient ruler of Yamatai."

"Holy shit," Madison let out as Alex said: "You gotta be kidding me! This is Yamatai?" He glanced at Madison. "Mads, you were right!"

"I always am," the young girl retorted.

"Well, ain't that something. We found the damn place after all," Reyes commented.

"Just wasn't what we expected, eh?" Jonah said.

Alex and Madison laughed.

"Understatement of the year!" Alex chortled.

"Sam's involved, somehow. Their leader thinks she's some kind of key," Lara explained. Madison's eyes widened at Lara's revelation.

"Holy shit, I heard some of the men talk about that!" Madison revealed. "They think she's the one?"

"Yes," Lara confirmed. "They...they had a ceremony; a fire ritual. She survived."

"Great. The cult has their own Charles Manson, too," Alex let out.

"His name's Mathias," Lara corrected.

"Poor Sam," Madison said. Sam must be terrified.

"I hope we can find her," Jonah added.

"One thing at a time. First: let's get the hell out of this cage," Reyes reminded them.

"Hold on to something!" Lara suddenly called out to them. Everyone complied, as they watched Lara shoot a fire arrow at the natural gas below them. Whatever Lara's plan was worked, because there was the sound of a loud explosion, a bright flash, and the counterweight was freed. The cage shifted, suddenly feeling much lighter.

"That did it!" Reyes exclaimed.

"Whoohoo! Yeah!" Alex cheered, with Madison joining in.

"Great job, Lara!" Jonah complimented.

The cheers did not last long, though. It appeared that Lara had started a chain reaction of explosions. The caves and debris were beginning to buckle.

"This place is becoming unstable. The floor is buckling," Lara commented as she ran up a ramp and were now at level with the prisoners in the cage.

"Don't worry about it, Lara, just get us out here!" Alex said.

"Please," Madison added, as she warily looked down to the ground. She could see the red-orange flames flicker, and some pits in the ground started to form.

The floor must be hollow, Madison thought as she glanced back up just in time to watch Lara jump on the counterweight platform and then on the roof of the cage. Madison knew the young woman made it as she heard the footsteps echo.

Madison had faith in Lara, but she started to worry when the cage began to lop sideways. She clenched the bars again, not wanting to slide.

"Lara, the cage is starting to get loose!" Madison warned her friend. Lara didn't respond, however, as there was a second loud explosion with the cage lurching downwards as a result.

"Holy shit!" Madison swore as the second round of explosions went off. This time, the detonations made a bigger impact. Suddenly, all of the ground floor disappeared creating one large pit. Then the floor of the cage disappeared, which caused everyone having to grab hold of the bars and barely balance themselves on the small bit of floor that they had left (which wasn't very much).

In the detonation, Lara had also been thrown off from the roof of the cage, but Jonah was able to grab her by the arm.

"I got you, girl!" Jonah assured her, as she swung herself back to grab hold of the cage again.

"Thanks, Jonah, that was close!" Lara said, as she began to scale the exterior of the cage again.

"We have a problem," Reyes chimed in.

"You mean our loss of floors? Yeah, didn't notice that," Madison bit back sarcastically. Jonah, however, had not noticed their problem and had let out a yelp of surprise.

"We lost the cage floor!" he yelled.

"Look down, man. We lost all the fucking floors!" Alex pointed out.

"We gotta get out of this thing!" Jonah said.

"Yeah, no shit," Madison retorted. "But we really can't do anything."

"This is bad," Alex moaned.

There was another sudden burst of explosions, eerily close to the cage. Madison could feel the rapid heat against her skin, and she had to close her eyes to avoid being blinded.

"It sounds like the whole mountain is going up," Alex commented. The cage started to lurch again, which was now scaring everyone. They were going to plummet soon.

"Lara, we're going down!" Madison warned her, as she saw the young woman on the platform. She watched as Lara opened the gas pipes.

"Hurry, Lara!" Alex cried out.

"Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!" Jonah advised.

"Lara, get your ass in gear! Get us out of here!" Reyes shouted. She then added: "Look, there's daylight on the other side. It could be our way out of here!"

Madison couldn't see Lara due to the fire and gas clouding her vision, but she could clearly hear Lara yell out: "Alright, this should do it! Take cover!"

No one had time to say anything as there was a final, big explosion. Madison held on for dear life as the cage sprang backward (in her perspective), landing on the side. On instinct, Madison let go of the bars and rolled out of the cage, onto the platform. She sprung on her feet, watching as the cage fell backwards and into the pit. Reyes, Jonah, and Alex all made it out, albeit Alex needing to be pulled up onto the platform.

"You're awesome, Lara!" Madison yelled out over the loud sounds of the caves collapsing.

"It looks like there's a way out on this side!" Reyes added, gesturing to the exit.

"Okay, then go! I'm going in to get Sam and Whitman!" Lara informed the group.

"Okay! Good luck!" Jonah yelled back. "Be safe, Lara!"

"C'mon! Let's move," Reyes ordered the group, who wasted no time in getting the hell out of there.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **A/N:** I like this chapter a lot. We start to get more into some thoughts + saving the _Endurance_ crew is always a great moment. I decided to "skip" over the the main caverns where the men were because to be honest, that part of the game is scary for me lol. Also, if Madison was fully conscious/aware, she would have been _terrified_. She definitely remembers the smells, though, so I wonder which is worse: knowing or _not_ knowing, you know? (Probably not, but that's okay.)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! I liked it a lot (but also watch me come back and edit it later, LOL). I'm exciting for the next couple chapters, though, because Lara will be with the group. I want to write scenes with Madison and Lara _so_ bad. Also: Sam! I love Sam. She got fucked over (even more) after this game. RIP.

(P.S. her deckhand friend is the one who uh...Lara witnessed being killed and consumed by the captives. Yikes.)


End file.
